


make you mine

by helios_ (the_heliades)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Bookstores, Florists, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, organised crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_heliades/pseuds/helios_
Summary: Mob Heir Donghyuck Seo sees Bookstore Owner Mark Lee across the street and decides that Mark Lee will be his.It takes a little while for everything to fall into place.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 14
Kudos: 196





	make you mine

**Author's Note:**

> for twt user merklyy, thank you for your patience and for this prompt ❤

Donghyuck could safely say that no-one expected  _ Take It or Leaf It _ to actually garner any success. 

Its predecessor had been a video rental store called  _ Flix Through It  _ that experienced no customers even when people actually rented videos and DVDs. It had been the perfect front for his father, Johnny, to run his operation out of and Donghyuck had grown up watching every film he could get his hand on. His Uncle Yuta would often say that their mob had the most cultured gangsters in the country, thanks to that one-time Sicheng went rogue and ordered two hundred foreign language films instead of the blockbuster summer hits he was supposed to order. 

Johnny only shut down that operation when Blockbuster went extinct and video rental stores became an exciting rarity to find on the street. 

In its place grew _ Take It or Leaf It _ , a florist that was just that bit too expensive for the average person to shop at outside of February. It specialised in “imported” flowers (from Taeyong’s rooftop garden and greenhouse) that were just that little bit rumpled and withered where it was on display (thanks to Ten’s highly efficient and not-that-gentle transportation method). 

It was the perfect place for Johnny to set up headquarters without getting disturbed. 

Except. 

Despite all the research, despite all the effort that Johnny and Doyoung had put into making the florist as unappealing as possible. People liked their flowers and their standoffish retail assistants who clearly didn’t know the difference between a dahlia and a daffodil. 

Which, as the heir to Johnny’s criminal empire who had nothing to do over summer break, is exactly what Donghyuck was. 

Donghyuck was fresh off the successful upsell to a dozen roses when he first saw him. 

Him being the boy who stumbled out of the bookstore across the street with the too loud laugh. Him being the boy who tripped over the bottom step and had to catch himself on a table before he fell over because when he laughed, he laughed with his whole body. Him being the boy who wore a denim jacket, and a beanie and a smile so bright and earnest that it stopped Donghyuck where he stood. 

_ 'Who is that?' _ he breathed, leaning over the counter to try and get a better look at the boy. He may have crushed some lavender in the process, but that’s no-one’s business but his own. There were more important things to worry about. ‘Jaemin, who is that?’ 

Jaemin’s head stayed in his phone. 

Donghyuck always put a semblance of effort into his job. The florist might not be the main part of their business, it might not even be a secondary part of their business. But it was something that his father set up and maintained and Donghyuck wanted to make him proud. 

Jaemin, on the other hand, put in such a minuscule amount of effort into their Regular People Job that Donghyuck wondered if he should start making performance reviews a thing just so he could shame Jaemin. 

He spent most of his shifts tucked up in the corner of the store playing Word with Friends even though no one played Word with Friends anymore, in Donghyuck’s opinion. And if he did do actual work, he usually pointed customers to the back corner of the store where their weirder and more exotic plants were kept in the hope that the Venus Flytrap would eat someone. 

Donghyuck has never been quite sure if it’s the disaffected lethargy of being from Gen Z, or if it was because Jaemin can’t get fired. 

‘Aren’t you supposed to be my bodyguard? Are you supposed to be paying attention to our surroundings? To me?’ 

One of Jaemin’s perfectly maintained eyebrows rose in response, a small sneer working across his face as he finally looked up from his phone. Donghyuck wished, for the thirty third time that week, that Jeno was his bodyguard instead. But Doyoung had decided that he needed an apprentice and Jeno was perfect for the role. 

So Donghyuck was stuck with Jaemin instead. 

‘My job is to keep you alive,  _ not _ to encourage your little obsessions. He’s probably a customer, you’re never going to see him again.’ 

Three days later, Donghyuck looked up from where he was arranging a display in the window and realised that the boy was back. He was dressed almost the same, though this time with a flannel instead of a denim jacket, and he was talking to Taeil-from-across-the-street. 

Donghyuck looked over his shoulder, at where Jaemin was watching an anime on his phone, before he put down the orchids (or where they begonias, Donghyuck didn’t know) and grabbed a bouquet from the stand that they kept by the door. He jogged out of the store, and across the road to the entrance of the bookstore. 

The bouquet had a tag on it that was clearly in the triple digits, but Donghyuck wasn’t going to put a price on love. 

‘Hey Taeil!’ Donghyuck made sure he had his sweetest, friendliest smile on his face as he greeted the man. ‘I hope you don’t mind me coming over, but Dad said that the flowers for your store were getting a bit wilted so we thought we’d give you another one!’ 

Taeil has known Donghyuck since Donghyuck was three years old. He was also very aware that the florist’s primary object had little to do with the flowers that Donghyuck sold and was the prime person to be wary of what Donghyuck was doing. The only tool in Donghyuck’s arsenal was his cuteness. 

‘Donghyuck!’ he said with a smile. Although Donghyuck didn’t know if it could truly be considered a smile, as Taeil was as bad at hiding his suspicion as ever. ‘I thought I told him that it could last another few days.’ 

‘Well, we had this one ready so we thought where else should we display it besides in your bookstore,’ Donghyuck said. He turned to the boy, whose smile was still on his face despite the fact confusion had also crept in. ‘We always give a bouquet for Taeil, it’s good advertising,’ he said, with a wink. ‘I’m Donghyuck, by the way. I work across the road.’ 

‘Mark,’ the boy said, ‘Mark Lee.’ 

Success. 

‘Mark’s the new owner of the bookstore,’ Taeil said, waddling into the bookstore with the bouquet that was astronomically large, now that Donghyuck was looking at it properly, and placing it on the counter. ‘He’s taken over since his Aunt isn’t well enough to keep the store running.’ 

‘Oh no, Mrs Chang!’ Donghyuck only just managed to inject a bit of anguish into his voice. Mrs Chang had always been really nice, would share her afternoon tea with Donghyuck when he was in primary school. But Mark Lee was definitely an upgrade, and internally Donghyuck was dancing at the idea of having Mark Lee working near him every day. ‘Give her my regards.’ 

‘I will, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.’ Mark Lee’s smile dropped into something softer, more sincere and Donghyuck realised with sudden, stunning shock that he was gone. Donghyuck Seo was gone, there was nothing left for him but to live for the moments that Mark Lee smiled because it lit up the wo— 

‘ _ WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER HERE _ ?’ Jaemin roared as he burst into the bookstore, eyes wide and teeth pulled into a frankly disturbing snarl. Nothing as beautiful as Mark Lee. ‘What have I said about leaving without telling me!’ 

Donghyuck was strong, but Jaemin had always been stronger. Donghyuck is determined, but Jaemin was the most stubborn person he knew. So Donghyuck could only yell a ‘We’ll talk next time!’ at Mark as Jaemin dragged him back across the road an into the florist. 

‘ _ Idiot, could get in trouble, could get hurt! You need to tell me where you are at all times, I’m supposed to protect you but I can’t do that if you’re acting like a dumbass _ ,’ Jaemin seethed as he pulled the florist door closed after him. 

Donghyuck sighed, looking back over his shoulder. ‘Jaemin, I want him.’ 

Silence. 

‘I should just let you get hurt, no-one would blame me. In fact, I’d probably get a commendation.’ 

Johnny Seo filled a room both with the sheer size that he took up, but also with the stifling, heavy weight of his presence. The countless masses under his thumb had to tip their head up to meet Johnny’s gaze, and there was no doubt that not only was Johnny looking down at them, he was looking down on them. 

But Donghyuck had never seen that. 

He tilted his head up at his father, and he was met with affection and pride. Even in a room of his father’s people, even in a room full of danger, Donghyuck felt safe and at home because that was his family. 

‘How are we going to handle the Neilsons?’ Johnny said. His voice was low, quiet among the din of chatter and cutlery on plates, but it resonated in the room, shaped it. 

‘I think it’s time we send someone in, to teach him a lesson.’ Doyoung’s voice was ice. Even though Donghyuck was well used to the duality of his father, he couldn’t help but be slightly discomfited by the fact that the man who made this threat was also the man who taught him his seven times tables. 

Johnny nodded. ‘Renjun, Yangyang.’ Donghyuck cast a glance at his two friends. A smirk had already worked its way across Renjun’s face, and Yangyang’s usual slouch had snapped into a sharp alertness. ‘See to it that the Neilsons are adequately informed of what we stand for, in this area.’ 

‘Yessir.’ 

‘How about Chang’s bookstore? I heard that she’s handed it off to someone else now,’ Ten said from where he leant against the entrance to the kitchen. His smile was sharp at the corners, and Donghyuck felt, for the first time, as shiver of something down his spine. 

He couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation. 

‘Chang never caused us any trouble,’ Johnny said with a slow shrug, ‘Taeil’s in the store already so we probably don’t need to worry about talking to the new kid.’ 

It was only later that Donghyuck realised that he’d felt disappointment at his father’s words. 

‘Are you looking for a book to read?’ 

‘Oh, I don’t read,’ Donghyuck said, like an idiot. 

Mark Lee, with his round glasses and his hair tucked into a cap, looked at Donghyuck. And Donghyuck looked right back at him. 

Jaemin, who was standing by cookbooks on the other side of the room, started sniggering. 

'It's for my dad,' Donghyuck said, too-loud and pitchy to his own ears. 

It was enough to cover Jaemin's laughter as it got even louder, the man bracing himself on the shelf behind Mark's back. He looked right at Donghyuck, smirk on his face. Donghyuck made a mental note to ask Yuta to bring Jaemin on his next job that involved the woods. 

And leave him there. 

'Oh, is it his birthday or something?' Mark said, surprise melting from his face and turning into that kind smile that made Donghyuck's heart flutter and his words catch in his throat. 

'Yeah,' Donghyuck managed to squeeze out through his palpitations. 'In a couple of weeks.' 

His Dad's birthday had been four months ago, but Mark Lee didn't need to know that. 

'Wow,' Mark said. He pulled his cap off his head and ran his fingers through his hair, a small movement he wasn't even aware of, Donghyuck was sure, but Donghyuck knew immediately that he wanted to run his fingers through Mark's hair. 'You're really organised.' 

'He's tricky to buy for,' Donghyuck stumbled through the words, 'so I wanted to start early.' 

'Well, why don't I give you a hand then?' Mark said. 'I'm still learning where everything is though, so you'll have to forgive me if I take a bit longer than Taeil at finding something!' 

More time with Mark, alone with Mark in the bookstore? Their attention solely on each other? 

'That's fine,' Donghyuck breathed. 'Really, I appreciate your dedication.' 

Donghyuck laid the flowers out on the counter of  _ Take It or Leaf It _ , a knife next to him where when he would carefully prune off the dead and dried leaves and the dried ends of the stems. He cast a look at Jaemin, who was watering most of the plants an aisle over. He inhaled, slow and steady, before picking up the knife. 

'What do you think of Mark Lee?' 

Jaemin looked up, turning to look at Donghyuck over his shoulder. His eyes weren't cold, but they were unimpressed as he surveyed Donghyuck's slightly hunched form and unsure eyes. 

'He seems like a good guy, definitely cares about the bookshop. Which is more than most kids would do if they took over a business all of a sudden.' 

'Do you think he'd be a useful addition to the group?' Donghyuck said. 

There was a moment, before Jaemin let out some sort of snort of amusement. 'I feel like he's about as far from the sort of person that belongs in our group as possible. He's not built for it.' 

Donghyuck let his shoulder slump forward at that, his lips pressed together into a thin line. He knew that Jaemin was right, knew that there was truth in Jaemin's words that couldn't be denied. 

But Donghyuck was the son of Jonathan Seo. Donghyuck got what he wanted and perhaps that was why Jaemin's face slowly dropped into something similar to resignation. 

'Your father didn't think it was worth reaching out to him, there's no reason for him to be brought into the business.' 

'My father isn't right all the time,' Donghyuck said, placing a couple of flowers back into a buck after he'd finished working on them. 'And soon the business is going to be mine, and I have to start preparing for the future.' 

Jaemin's eyes finally cooled, turning off the hose as he walked to where Donghyuck was standing at the counter. 'This is why you're not ready to takeover, and why you won't be for years. You're as immature and as selfish as you've always been.' 

It hurt, and Donghyuck flinched back at the words. But Jaemin’s gaze didn’t soften, didn’t let up in the slightest. So, he forced a snarl onto his lips, forced his veins to turn to ice, channelled everything his father had taught him. 'And yet you're still going to do what I say, aren't you?' 

Mark threw one last punch, heavily telegraphed and not at all structurally sound, before the man in black stumbled back and turned on his heel. 

Mark made to run after him, a hesitant step, before Donghyuck let out his own wheeze of pain. It was enough to make Mark spin around, eyes wide and careful as he ran his gaze over Donghyuck's body. 

'Are you okay?' Mark asked as he stepped forward. His hands were shaking, Donghyuck noticed, as he carefully tilted Donghyuck's head to the side. 'Shit, how many fingers am I holding up? Where's the pain?' 

'Four fingers,' Donghyuck winced, 'I think.' 

'You're coming inside, I think we've got a pretty well-stocked first aid kit in here.' Mark slung an arm around Donghyuck's waist, and Donghyuck let him take his weight as they slowly walked into the bookstore. Half the lights were off, casting shadows across the shelves. Donghyuck barely noticed it, however, compared Mark's low steady breathing and the warmth of his body against Donghyuck's side. 

'Here.' Mark eased Donghyuck into an armchair. 'I'm going to turn on the lights, tell me if they're too bright and your head hurts.' 

Donghyuck let out a grunt of acknowledgement, squeezing his eyes shut as he applied too much pressure to the bruises on his side. 'It's fine,' he said. 

Mark let out a heavy breath. 'I'm going to clean your face, it's going to sting but we have to make sure that no dirt got into your cuts or anything. Keep your eyes shut until I say you can open them.' 

Donghyuck nodded. 

He hissed as a warm pressure slowly worked across his face, reminding him of the cuts that were undoubtedly scattered across his face. It wasn't pleasant, never was when you got cleaned up after a fight, but Mark's fingers were gentle and his voice was soothing and smooth as he talked Donghyuck through what he was doing. 

'How do you know all this?' Donghyuck asked, when he was given permission to open his eyes. He looked up at Mark, whose eyes were calm and firm as wiped the blood away from Donghyuck's face. 

'I was a nurse, or was training to be one,' Mark said with a sigh. 'I'm a bit out of practice, but it's more than enough to give you some first aid for now.' 

Donghyuck couldn't control the way his heart leapt at Mark's words, at the way that something like hope began to burn in the very base of stomach. 

'Thanks, for coming to help me,' Donghyuck said. 

Mark's eyes met his, and the moment where they held each other's gaze felt like a lifetime and yet still not long enough. 

'Of course, I was going to help you,' Mark said with a smile, before carefully dabbing at the cut on Donghyuck's lips. 

It made getting beat up by Jaemin worth it. 

‘Mark Lee helped patch me up,’ Donghyuck said as Johnny paced the space of his office. ‘I’m fine, really.’ 

‘Where were you, Jaemin?’ Johnny growled out. 'I thought I paid you to protect him, not to disappear off into the night where he's at his most vulnerable.' 

Jaemin stood stock still between them, his jaw clenched and his eyes burning with an anger that Donghyuck knew would get redirected back to him. 

'I told him to go home early,' Donghyuck said. He sat at the desk, head tilted to the side as Taeyong checked him over quickly, quietly. 'It was a judgement call I made, and it was the wrong one.' 

For all the Johnny was the leader, for all that Johnny was cold-hearted, ruthless, he had a soft spot for his son and Donghyuck knew that he had to exploit it. 

'It wasn't the right call at all, you could have gotten very badly hurt, if that boy wasn't there to help you.' 

'I know. But.' Donghyuck looked up at his father. 'I think it made me realise that he'd be a good addition to the family.' 

Donghyuck tried to keep his voice firm, tried to keep it steady, as he waited for the reaction. 

Johnny hadn't let someone into their world in years, not since Kun had walked into their office fully armed and placed an offer of consolidating their power on the table. 

That had been ten years ago. 

'Because he helped you with some first aid?' Johnny's voice was incredulous, and Donghyuck knew that he had to work harder for his father to listen to him, for his father to consider the option that he was trying to present. 

'I think he'd be a really good choice,' Donghyuck said, pitching his voice to just the edge of whiny as he looked at his father. He knew that he wouldn't have to work hard, knew that he didn't have to worry too much, but Donghyuck was determined and he was going to get the results he wanted. ' _ Dad, I want him. _ ' 

Johnny swept into the bookstore, looking every bit the mob boss that he was. His suit was expensive, cut with the sort of precision that no ordinary person would be able to afford. His hair was swept off his face, revealing the cool and assessing gaze that was so different from what Donghyuck knew. 

Donghyuck stood by his father's side, trying his best to smile at Mark so that Mark knew that Donghyuck was in his corner. 

'You're Mark Lee, aren't you?' Johnny said, his voice low and steady as Mark looked up from the laptop he was curled over. 'You helped Donghyuck the other night after his altercation.' 

'Yessir,' Mark said, and he looked at Donghyuck for a beat too long, didn't even look at Johnny. 'Are you feeling better?' 

'A lot better,' Donghyuck said, truthfully, honestly, sweetly, because he knew that this was his one chance, knew that this was Mark's one chance. 

'He said that you are training to become a nurse,' Johnny interrupted. Mark's gaze was almost guilty as it snapped back to Johnny, away from Donghyuck's face. 'That's good.' 

He turned to Jaehyun. 'See to it that he is properly introduced to everyone.' 

'What's going on?' Mark asked. 

Donghyuck could only smile. 

'It's not too much, is it?' 

Donghyuck sat on the counter of the  _ Take It or Leaf It _ , looking at Mark who was twisting a spring of lavender between his fingers. His eyes were slightly wide, and Donghyuck didn't need to be an expert to know that Mark was in a low state of shock. 

He knew he had been selfish, when he had taken Mark Lee by the hand and dragged him into an underworld that he hadn't been prepared for. Knew that his world was supposed to be one that he kept close and tight to his chest, and that Mark might not have been the sort of person that would fit into, or even support the business in what they did. 

'It's a lot,' Mark said, his voice dry and thin. He sounded like he was hanging on by a thread, but Donghyuck looked at him and he knew that Mark's smile would return again soon, once he settled into his new role, once he learnt about the family that they had built for themselves and that Mark was slowly being inducted into. 

'They're good people, we look out for each other and we look out for the people that we consider ours,' Donghyuck said. His voice was steady, there wasn't any doubt behind his words, behind his eyes. Because while he had been unsure about Mark, while he had been unsure about his father and about Jaemin, he was never unsure about his family and what they stood for. 'And I'll be there, if you need support in it, and Jaemin will be there. And once you meet Taeyong, he'll take you under his wing and you'll be able to understand who you are within this.' 

Mark swallowed, and he was scared. Donghyuck reached over, and pulled the flower from Mark's hands. 

'It'll be fine,' Donghyuck promised, and hoped that Mark believed him. 

Mark sat on the couch, knees pressed together and shoulder twisted back into a parody of perfect posture. Donghyuck threw his legs over Mark's lap, taking a sip of his water as he cast a look around the room. Jaemin and Hendery lay on the floor, kicking each other as they fought through another round of Smash Brothers. Yangyang and Renjun braced themselves against the island bench, their following arm wrestle would be the highlight of the evening only because Yukhei would be up against the winner. Dejun was curled up in the armchair, about to take a nap as his glasses slipped down his nose. 

Jisung and Chenle were in charge of dinner, bickering loudly by the stove as they dumped what looked like three full heads of garlic into the frying pan. 

Jeno looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world than in the room. 

This was the next generation of their family, the next generation of leaders. These were Donghyuck's people and he couldn't be happier to have them by his side, couldn't be prouder to know that they would accomplish so much. 

'This is what it's about,' Donghyuck said, gesturing to the people in front of him, 'this is what the family stands for. We look out for each other; we look after each other.' 

Mark swallowed, taking a sip of his own drink as he took in the people he'd slowly met over the past weeks. Donghyuck had been careful, introduced Mark to everyone one at a time, did his best not to overwhelm him, waited until he saw that small smile, heard that friendly laugh. 

'They mean a lot to you, don't they?' Mark said, and when he looked back at Donghyuck his shoulders were that bit more slumped, that bit looser. 

It made Donghyuck smile, knowing that Mark was that bit more comfortable, knowing that they had stepped that bit closer into what they would be. 

' _ You all _ mean a lot to me,' Donghyuck corrected. 

Mark's first foray into the dirtier, darker side of the business happened months after Johnny Seo walked into his bookstore. Donghyuck had hoped that he could hold it off a bit longer, but knew better and knew more than he would like. 

It wasn't a clean job; it wasn't how their family usually operates. Johnny had built an empire on careful words and threats, of trust and promises, of safety and of diplomacy. It had been a long time since they truly had to get their hands dirty, in that way that seeped down to the bone and followed you for nights after. 

It was supposed to be an opportunity for Donghyuck to learn more, to get a deeper understanding of what was waiting for him at the end of his degree, at the end of his youth. Donghyuck had stood by his father's side with that same cold, impassive glare that he had been raised to cast on those who were lesser. 

But then a crack had echoed out, and Donghyuck only remembered the weight of Jaemin shoving him to the floor. Donghyuck had always been quick, but Jaemin had been quicker and so it was Jaemin's body that bled as Jaehyun let out a roar of command, as Johnny's gaze turned to ice, as Jeno barely-fumbled for his phone and dialled in Yangyang to get them out of there. 

Donghyuck was the one whose fist flew out, who shielded Jaemin's body and fought back as he tore into the nearest person who tried to hurt them. 

Donghyuck was the one who refused to be evacuated, to follow the plan, as he pressed hard on Jaemin's shoulder to stop the flow of blood. 

Mark was the one, pale-faced, who stood up when they tumbled into backroom of the florist. Mark was the one who, with now steady hands, sewed up the hole in Jaemin's shoulder and washed away the blood. He hadn't been on the front line, hadn't been anywhere near what had happened. Donghyuck thought that perhaps Renjun had called him, woken him up and screamed that they needed him but he wasn't sure. 

His face was firm, his eyes cool as he methodically wrapped Jaemin's shoulder up. His words were sharp and commanding as he told Jeno off for punching a pane of glass with bare hands, pulling the shards out with tweezers that Donghyuck didn't even know he owned. 

Mark's voice was cold, and his eyes were firm. But when he finally pushed Dejun away and said that everyone needed a good night's rest and to call him if they needed painkillers, he took Donghyuck by the hand and led him up the stairs into the little apartment that Donghyuck called him. 

He wrapped his arms around Donghyuck's trembling body, and told him it was okay to cry. 

It was different, being in _ Take It or Leaf It  _ when Jaemin wasn't there. 

Donghyuck was used to the sound of his fingers tapping against the phone, was used to the aggravated huffs that used to break out whenever Jaemin was met with something that he couldn't quite work out. But Jaemin was on bedrest for another few weeks, and Donghyuck's bodyguard of the day was one of the men from outside the inner circle, someone who his father trust but Donghyuck had no rapport with. 

It lingered, that feeling of anxiousness and loneliness. It sat in Donghyuck's chest as he carefully picked out a bouquet of flowers for one of the online orders that came through. 

He'd been the only one not hurt that night, kept safe by the army of men that was his and his alone. But he felt like he had been, his shoulder ached the way Jaemin's did, his fingers felt torn up like Jeno's but didn't bare a single cut. His cheek throbbed in reminder of the punch that Yukhei had taken. 

And yet his skin was unbroken and his body in what was almost perfect condition. 

It felt wrong, and tight and Donghyuck wanted nothing more than to reach out and have something of his reach back. 

The door opened, a quiet jingle of a bell echoing through the silent space, and Donghyuck looked up to see Mark. 

Mark who wore a too big flannel and had bags under his eyes, Mark whose hair wasn't combed and was messed up in a way that would ordinarily make Donghyuck want to pat it down. Mark whose smile was tired, but genuine as crossed the floor and took Donghyuck's hand in his. 

'How are you feeling?' he asked, and he kept his voice low and in the space between them. 

'Incomplete,' Donghyuck said, and knew that one day this would be his weakness, like he was his father's. 

'Everyone will be okay,' Mark said, and there was something in his warm, warm eyes, that looked like hesitation before he reached up and combed Donghyuck's hair backwards. Donghyuck hadn't bothered styling it, and it gently fell back into place. 

Still, Mark's smile didn't drop. 

'They'll be okay,' he promised, and Donghyuck couldn't help but think that this wasn't a promise for the moment, but rather a promise for the ages. 'We look after each other, don't we?' 

Donghyuck let out a laugh, and it wasn't happy and it wasn't joyous, but it felt genuine as he let himself tip forward into Mark's arms. 

Mark who didn't hesitate to pull Donghyuck close now, who wasn't afraid anymore. Who was Donghyuck's now. 

'I think I was scared,' Donghyuck admitted, and he hated the words as they fell from his lips. 

'Of what?' 

'Being alone,' he breathed. 

Mark smiled, 'I promise I won't let that happen.' 

Donghyuck looked up at him, and saw kindness and goodness. It was the same sort that drew his eyes to Mark, that first time he saw him across the road. It warmed something inside of Donghyuck's heart, let something warm spread through his chest and he realised that this boy was completely and utterly his. 

He wasn't sure who leaned in first, if it was him standing up that bit straighter and pushing into Mark's personal space. Or if it was Mark, drawing him closer with steady hands and a sweet smile. 

But Donghyuck's lips pressed against Mark's, soft for a moment and then deeper as he felt something inside of him shatter and then reform into something stronger. And Mark's hands were gentle as they settled on his waist, as they surrounded Donghyuck in his warmth and kindness. 

Donghyuck knew, in that moment, that Mark was his and he was Mark's. 

  
  
  



End file.
